Rahul Gandhi Demands Release Of Mehbooba Mufti From Detention

Former finance minister P. Chidambaram also said that the extended detention is an “abuse of law” and “assault” on the constitutional rights of every citizen of the country”.

Stressing that the continued detention of People’s Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti “damaged” the Indian democracy, Rahul Gandhi attacked the central government over her extended detention. Her detention was extended on Friday, a year after she was taken into custody. The PDP chief is accused under the Public Safety Act.

However, Sajjad Lone was released by the government who was also a partner in the last coalition with the BJP, which was headed by Ms. Mufti. The BJP ended its alliance with the PDP June 2018 and Jammu and Kashmir has been under Central rule since.

“India’s democracy is damaged when GOI illegally detains political leaders. It’s high time Mehbooba Mufti is released,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted. The Congress leader has been taking the BJP heads on with issues such as economy, coronavirus outbreak, and China.

Former finance minister P. Chidambaram also said that the extended detention is an “abuse of law” and “assault” on the constitutional rights of every citizen of the country”.

“How is the 61 year old former chief minister, a protected person under security guard round the clock, a threat to public safety?” Chidamabaram questioned on Twitter.

Mehbooba Mufti was amongst a number of political leaders who were detained after Centre abrogated article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019, and divided the state into two union territories. The detention was considered as precautions against any backlash.

Many leaders since then have been released at different points of time. In March, former Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah were also released by the centre.